Request-response-based sharing of sensor information

ABSTRACT

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to a request-response mechanism for sharing sensor information. For example, sensor devices (e.g., in vehicles, fixed structures, or a combination thereof) may selectively share information acquired by the sensor devices. The disclosure relates in some aspects to avoiding redundant transmissions of sensor information. For example, a sensor device of a set of sensor devices may determine which sensor device should transmit information and/or the time(s) at which that sensor device should transmit the information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a divisional of patent application Ser. No.16/452,071, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jun. 25,2019, which is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 15/695,954,filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Sep. 5, 2017, whichclaims priority to and the benefit of provisional patent application No.62/451,393 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 27,2017, the entire content of each of which is incorporated herein byreference.

INTRODUCTION

Various aspects described herein relate to wireless communication and,more particularly but not exclusively, to a request-response mechanismfor sharing sensor information.

Self-driving cars or other driving assist mechanisms may useline-of-sight sensors such as Lidar, radar, cameras, etc., to detectobjects in the vicinity of the vehicle. In practice, however, avehicle's sensors might not be able to detect all of the objects in thevehicle's vicinity. For example, a sensor's line-of sight may be blocked(e.g., by other vehicles or the surroundings) or sensing performance maybe adversely affected by weather conditions and/or lighting conditions.In addition, the vehicle may have a limited sight distance.

In some situations, there may be other sensors in the vicinity of thevehicle. Accordingly, it may be useful for the vehicle to obtain sensedinformation from these other sensors.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of some aspects of thedisclosure to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present variousconcepts of some aspects of the disclosure in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication that includes a memory device and a processing circuitcoupled to the memory device. The processing circuit is configured to:determine at least one attribute for a request for sensor information;send the request including the at least one attribute; receive aresponse to the request; and identifying at least one object in avicinity of the apparatus based on the response.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method for communicationincluding: determining at least one attribute for a request for sensorinformation; sending the request including the at least one attribute;receiving a response to the request; and identifying at least one objectin a vicinity of the apparatus based on the response.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication. The apparatus including: means for determining at leastone attribute for a request for sensor information; means for sendingthe request including the at least one attribute; means for receiving aresponse to the request; and means for identifying at least one objectin a vicinity of the apparatus based on the response.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, includingcode to: determine at least one attribute for a request for sensorinformation; send the request including the at least one attribute;receive a response to the request; and identifying at least one objectin a vicinity of the apparatus based on the response.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication that includes a memory device and a processing circuitcoupled to the memory device. The processing circuit is configured to:receive a request for sensor information from a requestor; identify atleast one attribute of the request; sense for objects; generate aresponse to the request based on the sensing and the at least oneattribute; determine when to send the response; and send the responseaccording to the determination of when to send the response.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method for communicationincluding: receiving a request for sensor information from a requestor;identifying at least one attribute of the request; sensing for objects;generating a response to the request based on the sensing and the atleast one attribute; determining when to send the response; and sendingthe response according to the determination of when to send theresponse.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forcommunication. The apparatus including: means for receiving a requestfor sensor information from a requestor; means for identifying at leastone attribute of the request; means for sensing for objects; means forgenerating a response to the request based on the sensing and the atleast one attribute; means for determining when to send the response;and means for sending the response according to the determination ofwhen to send the response.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, includingcode to: receive a request for sensor information from a requestor;identify at least one attribute of the request; sense for objects;generate a response to the request based on the sensing and the at leastone attribute; determine when to send the response; and send theresponse according to the determination of when to send the response.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides an apparatus configured forwireless communication that includes a memory device and a processingcircuit coupled to the memory device. The processing circuit isconfigured to: detect an object; determine whether the object wasreported to a second apparatus within a window of time; and selectivelytransmit a message identifying the object to the second apparatus basedon the determination whether the object was reported to the secondapparatus within the window of time.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method for communicationincluding: detecting an object; determining whether the object wasreported to a second apparatus within a window of time; and selectivelytransmitting a message identifying the object to the second apparatusbased on the determining whether the object was reported to the secondapparatus within the window of time.

These and other aspects of the disclosure will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and implementations of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific implementations of the disclosurein conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features of thedisclosure may be discussed relative to certain implementations andfigures below, all implementations of the disclosure can include one ormore of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words,while one or more implementations may be discussed as having certainadvantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used inaccordance with the various implementations of the disclosure discussedherein. In similar fashion, while certain implementations may bediscussed below as device, system, or method implementations it shouldbe understood that such implementations can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description ofaspects of the disclosure and are provided solely for illustration ofthe aspects and not limitations thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication system within which aspectsof the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication system employing objectsensing within which aspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example timeline for the communication system ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example communication system that uses arequest-response scheme for communicating sensor information inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process forrequesting sensor information in accordance with some aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process forresponding to a request for sensor information in accordance with someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example autonomously controlled apparatus (e.g.,vehicle) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example semi-autonomously controlled apparatus(e.g., vehicle) in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example hardwareimplementation for an apparatus (e.g., an electronic device) that cansupport communication in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example hardwareimplementation for an apparatus (e.g., an electronic device) that cansupport communication in accordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process inaccordance with some aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure relates in some aspects to a request and response scheme(hereafter, request-response scheme) for obtaining information fromnearby sensors. In some aspects, the request-response scheme may employvehicle-to-anything (V2X) communication or some other suitablecommunication (e.g., between moving or stationary sensing devices).Advantageously, V2X communication and other types of communication aretypically not restricted to line-of-sight. Thus, a vehicle can receivesensor information from a sensor (e.g., in another vehicle) that is notin the line-of-sight of the vehicle. This can be particularly helpfulfor the case where two vehicles are approaching intersections.Accordingly, the disclosure relates in some aspects to using V2Xcommunication or other suitable communication (e.g., stationary deviceto vehicle communication) that can be used to share sensor information.

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. Moreover, alternate configurations may be devised withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, well-knownelements will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not toobscure the relevant details of the disclosure.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. For example, the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) is a standards body that definesseveral wireless communication standards for networks involving theevolved packet system (EPS), frequently referred to as long-termevolution (LTE) networks. Evolved versions of the LTE network, such as afifth-generation (5G) network, may provide for many different types ofservices or applications, including but not limited to web browsing,video streaming, VoIP, mission critical applications, multi-hopnetworks, remote operations with real-time feedback (e.g.,tele-surgery), etc. Thus, the teachings herein can be implementedaccording to various network technologies including, without limitation,5G technology, fourth generation (4G) technology, third generation (3G)technology, and other network architectures. Thus, various aspects ofthe disclosure may be extended to networks based on 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) (in FDD, TDD, or both modes), Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. Also, the techniques describedherein may be used for a downlink, an uplink, a peer-to-peer link, orsome other type of link.

The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and/orcommunication standard used will depend on the specific application andthe overall design constraints imposed on the system. For purposes ofillustration, the following may describe various aspects in the contextof a 5G system, an LTE system, a V2X system, or a combination thereof.It should be appreciated, however, that the teachings herein may be usedin other systems as well. Thus, references to functionality in thecontext of 5G terminology, LTE terminology, V2X terminology, or acombination thereof, should be understood to be equally applicable toother types of technology, networks, components, signaling, and so on.

Example Communication System

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100where a user equipment (UE), a vehicle, or some other type of device cancommunicate with other devices via wireless communication signaling. Forexample, a first UE 102 and a second UE 104 may communicate with atransmit receive point (TRP) 106 using wireless communication resourcesmanaged by the TRP 106 and/or other network devices (e.g., a corenetwork 108, an internet service provider (ISP) 110, peer devices, andso on).

In some cases, devices of the system 100 may communicate with each otherdirectly via a direct link 112 (e.g., a unicast link, a broadcast link,or a multicast link). A direct link may take the form of, for example, avehicle-to-anything (V2X) link or a device-to-device (D2D) link As shownin FIG. 1, a first vehicle 114 may communicate via V2X communication (orvia a similar form of communication such as a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication) with a secondvehicle 116, the UE 102, a sensor 118, the TRP 106, or some other device(e.g., component) of the system 100.

In accordance with the teachings herein, devices of the system 100 mayinclude functionality for sharing sensor information. There may beseveral issues relating to the sharing of sensor information. Forexample, for a particular location or geographical area there may beseveral vehicles sensing the same information such as an obstacle or apedestrian. If all of the vehicles transmitted the information, thecommunication could be relatively inefficient (e.g., redundantinformation could be transmitted by multiple vehicles). The transmissionof large amounts of data (e.g., from high definition cameras) could alsoresult in the required data rate being relatively high and it could bechallenging to meet data transfer requirements for such data. In view ofthe above, the disclosure relates in some aspects to determining whichvehicle should transmit information and the time(s) at which the vehicleshould transmit the information. To this end, each of the first vehicle114, the UE 102, the sensor 118, the TRP 106, or any other component ofthe system 100, may include a module for sharing sensor information 120.

The devices and links of the wireless communication system 100 may takedifferent forms in different implementations. For example, and withoutlimitation, UEs may be cellular devices, Internet of Things (IoT)devices, cellular IoT (CIoT) devices, LTE wireless cellular devices,machine-type communication (MTC) cellular devices, smart alarms, remotesensors, smart phones, mobile phones, smart meters, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), personal computers, mesh nodes, and tablet computers.

In some aspects, a TRP may refer to a physical entity that incorporatesradio head functionality for a particular physical cell. In someaspects, the TRP may include 5G new radio (NR) functionality with an airinterface based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). NRmay support, for example and without limitation, enhanced mobilebroadband (eMBB), mission-critical services, and wide-scale deploymentof IoT devices. The functionality of a TRP may be similar in one or moreaspects to (or incorporated into) the functionality of a CIoT basestation (C-BS), a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), radio access network(RAN) access node, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station(BS), a radio base station (RBS), a base station controller (BSC), abase transceiver station (BTS), a transceiver function (TF), a radiotransceiver, a radio router, a basic service set (BSS), an extendedservice set (ESS), a macro cell, a macro node, a Home eNB (HeNB), afemto cell, a femto node, a pico node, or some other suitable entity. Indifferent scenarios (e.g., NR, LTE, etc.), a TRP may be referred to as agNodeB (gNB), an eNB, a base station, or referenced using otherterminology.

Various types of links may be supported in the wireless communicationsystem 100. For example, D2D links may include, without limitation,machine-to-machine (M2M) links, MTC links, V2V links, and V2X linksNetwork-to-device links may include, without limitation, uplinks (orreverse links), downlinks (or forward links), V2N links, and V2X linksBroadcast links may include, without limitation, V2V links, V2X links,M2M links, and MTC links. In some aspects, V2V and V2N communication maybe considered as examples of V2X communication.

Example Vehicle System

FIG. 2 illustrates a communication system 200 that uses arequest-response scheme for sharing sensor information. Thecommunication system 200 includes vehicles that can sense objects intheir vicinity and share the sensed information. In the scenario of FIG.2, a forward view of a first vehicle V1 is partially blocked by a secondvehicle V2 and a third vehicle V3. In addition, a forward view of thesecond vehicle V2 is partially blocked by the third vehicle V3. Thesensors of the third vehicle V3 can detect the objects 1, 2, 3, and 4.The sensors of the second vehicle V2 can detect the objects 4 and 5. Thesensors of the first vehicle cannot detect any of the objects 1, 2, 3, 4or 5. In such a scenario, is it desirable for V1 to request sensorinformation from V2 and V3.

Example Timeline

The disclosure relates in some aspects to a request-response scheme thatenables vehicles to share sensor data. Advantageously, this may beaccomplished while reducing redundant sharing of data (flooding). Invarious aspects, the request-response scheme may use certain triggers toinvoke sharing, may specify various types of information to share, mayspecify the detected objects to be reported (e.g., objects within aspecified distance, in a particular direction, etc.), and may specifythe type of data to be shared (e.g., object indicators, raw data such asa camera feed, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates a timeline 300 for one example of a request-responsescheme for sharing sensor information in the scenario of FIG. 1. At timeT0, the first vehicle V1 (the requestor in this scenario) sends amessage (e.g., via a common channel such as a V2V communication channelused by the first vehicle V1, the second vehicle V2, and the thirdvehicle V3) requesting the sensor feed from any nearby vehicles. Thefirst vehicle V2 and the second vehicle V3 (and any other nearbyvehicles or devices configured to communicate on the channel) canreceive this request message. At time T1, the third vehicle V3 (aresponder in this scenario) responds with sensor information indicatingdetected objects 1, 2, 3, and 4 (e.g., the third vehicle V3 sends aresponse via the common channel). The first vehicle V1 and the secondvehicle V2 (and any other nearby vehicles or devices configured tocommunicate on the channel) can receive this response message. Asdiscussed in more detail below, the third vehicle V3 may respond firstin this scenario because the visibility of it sensors reaches fartherthan the visibility of the sensors of the second vehicle V2. At time T2,the first vehicle V1 sends a message acknowledging receipt of theresponse from the third vehicle V3 (e.g., the first vehicle V1 sends anACK via the common channel). At time T3, the second vehicle V2 (aresponder in this scenario) responds with sensor information indicatingdetected object 5 (e.g., the second vehicle V2 sends a response via thecommon channel). Advantageously, the second vehicle V2 monitors theresponse from the third vehicle V3 at time T1 as discussed above anddoes not duplicate the information that was already sent by the thirdvehicle V3. That is, the second vehicle V2 transmits only the objectdata that has not been previously detected and reported (e.g., within aparticular window of time corresponding to the request). As discussedherein, information (e.g., for a particular object) is therebytransmitted only once to avoid flooding (e.g., to avoid multiplevehicles transmitting redundant information). At time T4, the firstvehicle V1 sends a message acknowledging receipt of the response fromthe second vehicle V2 (e.g., the first vehicle V1 sends an ACK via thecommon channel).

Example Protocol

The disclosure relates in some aspects to a request-response protocolfor sharing sensor information. In some aspects, a responder may beconfigured to only transmit its sensor data (e.g., object information orraw data) in response to a request for the sensor data.

The request may take different forms in different scenarios. A requestmay request various types of information. A request may include varioustypes of information.

In some aspects, a request can indicate that a response should indicateall objects that were detected or only a subset of these objects. As anexample of the latter case, a request might request that only objects inthe requestor's blind spot be reported. In this case, the request mayspecify the region for which objects are to be reported (e.g., byincluding an indication of the blind spot). For example, the request maydescribe the region as at least one of: a set of coordinates, adirection (e.g., an angle), a span relative to the direction, a centerpoint, a zone around the center point, a range, or any combinationthereof. As another example of the latter case, a request might requestthat only objects within a certain distance from the requestor bereported. As yet another example of the latter case, a request mightrequest that only objects that have not already been reported (i.e., thedelta) be reported. Alternatively, any of the above behaviors could be adefault behavior.

A request may include the vehicle's location. A responder could use thislocation information to determine, for example, whether the responder isclose enough to the requestor to warrant a response (e.g., based on asystem-defined threshold or a threshold provided by the requestor).

A request may request a specific sensor feed. For example, a request mayask for an indication of detected objects, raw Lidar data (e.g., a Lidarfeed), raw camera data (e.g., a camera feed), raw radar data (e.g., aradar feed), or any combination thereof.

A request may indicate a period of time over which the sensor feed isrequired. The designated period of time may depend, for example, on thespeed of the requesting vehicle and/or the speed of the respondingvehicle.

A request can request a sensor feed for a certain direction. Forexample, the request may ask a requestor to sense at a certain anglefrom a current orientation and report that information.

A requestor vehicle may receive a Basic Safety Message (BSM). Thus, therequestor may be aware of the presence of different vehicles in thevicinity (along with the location, direction, and speed of each vehiclein some cases).

Consequently, a request may indicate a distance (e.g., Y meters) so thatany vehicle within that distance from the requestor starts transmittingsensor data first (i.e., sooner than vehicles that are further away).Subsequently, the distance may be increased so the requestor can obtainvisibility up to a certain distance (e.g., the vehicles that are furtheraway from the requestor will report their information once the distanceis increased). As another example, the request may specify the order inwhich the vehicles in the vicinity are to respond (e.g., the thirdvehicle V3 responds first, the second vehicle V2 responds second, and soon).

A responder may perform various operations based on a received request.For example, a response may be based on information included in therequest and/or one or more characteristics (e.g., location, visibility,etc.) of the responders.

In one scenario, the first requestor is a vehicle that has visibilityabove X meters. That is, by default (e.g., according to a threshold Xspecified by the system or the requestor), the vehicles that can “see”the furthest report first. Such a requestor may transmit (e.g.,broadcast) an indication of all objects it has detected (or a designatedsubset of these objects).

In some aspects, the visibility of a vehicle may depend on the sensorsused by that vehicle. For example, Lidar may have a visibility of 150meters, a camera may have an effective visibility of 100 meters, and soon. These examples are for purposes of illustration. Other visibilitydistances could apply in other scenarios.

If no vehicles have visibility above X meters, X may be reduced overtime (e.g., by an amount designated by the system or the requestor) toallow some other vehicle to transmit. This step may occur within alatency period (e.g., a period of time designated by the system or therequestor for determining whether there has been an initial response).For example, Y seconds after the request is sent, each of the respondervehicles may reduce X by a delta Z if none of the vehicles haveresponded to the request. In an alternative implementation, therequestor may send another request with a smaller X if no responses havebeen received after a certain period of time (e.g., Y seconds).

Alternatively or in addition, different vehicles could pick a randomdelay-in-response (a back-off value) to determine when to transmit. Therandom delay could depend on the amount of data to be transmitted in theresponse or some other factor (e.g., proximity to the requestor, etc.).Thus, in this case, the first vehicle to respond may be the one with theshortest random delay value. A random back-off may be used, for example,to prevent different vehicles that meet the same reporting timecriterion (e.g., visibility above X) from reporting at the same time.

After the first vehicle sends a response, other vehicles in the area maytransmit (e.g., broadcast) their responses (e.g., at times based ontheir respective reporting time criteria, if applicable). As discussedabove, to improve system efficiency, these vehicles might only senddeltas above and beyond what any prior vehicles transmitted. Forexample, if the three vehicles detected the same object, only the firstresponder would report this object in this case.

After all of the responses have been sent, the vehicle that requestedthe sensor feed may send one or more acknowledgments (e.g., separateACKs to each responder, a global ACK, collective ACKs, etc.). Therequestor may send an acknowledgment at, for example, the physical (PHY)layer or the application layer. Advantageously, this can provide forhigher reliability on top of PHY layer re-transmission.

If a responder does not receive an acknowledgment from the requestor,the responder can retransmit its response. In some case, the respondermay respond with its full information (rather than the delta) if therequestor did not acknowledge any of the responses.

Example Communication System

FIG. 4 illustrates a communication system 400 that includes a firstapparatus 402 and a second apparatus 404. The first apparatus 402 andthe second apparatus 404 may correspond to, for example, the vehicles ofFIG. 1, 2, or 3. For example, the first apparatus 402 may be in a firstvehicle and the second apparatus 404 may be in a second vehicle. Thefirst apparatus 402 and the second apparatus 404 may communicate via acommunication link such as, for example, a V2X link, an enhanced V2X(eV2X) link, or some other suitable communication link (e.g., a V2Vlink, a V2N link, a D2D link, etc.).

The apparatuses of the communication system 400 may access other peercommunication apparatuses, other communication apparatuses of anassociated wide area network, or communication devices in other networks(not shown). To reduce the complexity of FIG. 4, only two apparatusesare shown. In practice, a wireless communication system may include moreof these apparatuses. In some implementations, the first apparatus 402may correspond to the first vehicle 114 of FIG. 1. In addition, thesecond apparatus 404 may correspond to the second vehicle 116, thesensor 118, the UE 102, or some other device of FIG. 1.

The first apparatus 402 includes at least one sensor 406 for sensingobjects in the vicinity (e.g., within a particular range) of the firstapparatus 402. For example, the at least one sensor 406 may incorporateLidar, radar, camera, or some other suitable object sensor technology.The first apparatus 402 also includes an object detection processor 408for processing information received from the at least one sensor 406 (oranother sensing device) to make an object detection decision and takeaction upon determining that an object has been detected. In addition,the first apparatus 402 includes a transceiver 410 for communicatingwith other apparatuses (e.g., other vehicles or devices with sensors).In some implementations, the transceiver 410 provides V2X or V2Vcommunication.

The second apparatus 404 includes at least one sensor 412, an objectdetection processor 414, and a transceiver 416 similar to the firstapparatus 402. In the example, of FIG. 4, the first apparatus 402transmits a request 418 for sensor information. For example, the objectdetection processor may determine that the view of the at least onesensor 406 is partially blocked and therefore request additional sensordata from its neighbors. In response, the second apparatus 404 sends aresponse 420 that includes the sensor information sensed by the at leastone sensor 412 and/or processed object information (e.g., objectinformation) generated by the object detection processor 414. As anexample of the latter case, the object detection processor 414 mayprocess raw data provided by the at least one sensor 412 to identify anyobjects in the field of view and/or the specific location of eachobject. Here, a location may be indicated by geographic coordinates, adirection, a distance, a direction and a distance, or some otherlocation parameter(s). In addition, the object detection processor 414may indicate the type of object detected (e.g., a car, a bicycle, apedestrian, etc.).

The teachings herein may be implemented in an apparatus or asubcomponent of an apparatus. As one example, the first apparatus 402and/or the second apparatus 404 of FIG. 4 could be a vehicle thatprovides some or all of the functionality described herein. In thiscase, the vehicle could identifying nearby objects and transmit anindication thereof and/or the vehicle could receive sensor informationfrom another apparatus and take action accordingly. Alternatively, thefirst apparatus 402 could be a component of a first vehicle and/or thesecond apparatus 404 could be a component of a second vehicle.

As another example, a communication module of an apparatus could providesome or all of the functionality described herein. FIG. 4 illustrates anexample where the first apparatus 402 may be optionally configured witha communication module 422 that includes at least some of thefunctionality of the object detection processor 408 and the transceiver410, and where the second apparatus 404 may be optionally configuredwith a communication module 424 that includes at least some of thefunctionality of the object detection processor 414 and the transceiver416.

As yet another example, a sensor module of an apparatus could providesome or all of the functionality described herein. FIG. 4 illustrates anexample where the first apparatus 402 may be optionally configured witha sensor module 426 that includes at least some of the functionality ofthe object detection processor 408 and the at least one sensor 406, andwhere the second apparatus 404 may be optionally configured with acommunication module 428 that includes at least some of thefunctionality of the object detection processor 414 and the at least onesensor 412.

The teachings herein may be implemented in a wide variety ofapparatuses. For example, as mentioned above, a vehicle or a componentof a vehicle may provide some or all of the functionality describedherein. As used herein, a vehicle can include any type of propelledapparatus including, without limitation, an automobile, a truck, anoff-road vehicle, a motorcycle, a boat, an aircraft (e.g., a drone,etc.) a robot, or a conveyance device (e.g., for an automated factory,warehouse, or other use). Other types of apparatuses that are capable ofcommunication could also provide some or all of the functionalitydescribed herein. For example, a cell phone or other wirelesscommunication device (e.g., including at least one sensor) couldidentify nearby objects and send an indication thereof to anotherdevice. As another example, a cell phone or other wireless communicationdevice could receive sensor information from another device and takeaction accordingly. For example, the cell phone or other device coulddisplay an indication about nearby objects, generate some other form ofalert (e.g., an audible alert), send a control signal to another device(e.g., a control system of a vehicle), or forward the sensor informationto another device. Also at least some of the functionality describedherein could be implemented through the use of an application (app) thatcan be downloaded to a device (e.g., a cell phone, a computer, or someother type of wireless communication device) to enable the device toprovide the corresponding functionality.

Example Processes

FIG. 5 illustrates a process 500 for communication in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure. The process 500 may take place within aprocessing circuit (e.g., the processing circuit 910 of FIG. 9), whichmay be located in a vehicle, a component of a vehicle, a communicationdevice, a sensor device, a peer-to-peer device, a UE, a customerpremises equipment (CPE), a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a basestation (BS), an eNode B (eNB), or some other suitable apparatus of arequestor (e.g., a requestor vehicle). In some aspects, the process 500may be performed by the first apparatus 402 of FIG. 4. For example,block 402 may be performed by the at least one sensor 406, blocks 404and 406 may be performed by the object detection processor 408, andblocks 408 and 410 may be performed by the transceiver 410. Of course,in various aspects within the scope of the disclosure, the process 500may be implemented by any suitable apparatus capable of supportingcommunication-related operations.

At block 502, an apparatus (e.g., a requestor vehicle) senses at leastone object.

At block 504, the apparatus determines that there is a need to requestinformation from another sensor or other sensors.

At block 506, the apparatus determines attributes for the request. Forexample, a request may request all sensor information or a subset ofsensor information (e.g., only sensor information for a current blindspot). In addition, a location of the requestor may be included in therequest (e.g., to enable a responder to determine where to sense). Arequest may request a specific sensor feed (e.g., to obtain sensorinformation from a particular type of sensor and/or from a particularlocation). A request may specify a period of time (e.g., for respondingto the request). A request may indicate a direction for the sensing. Arequest may specify a distance (e.g., to control which respondersrespond to the request).

At block 508, the apparatus sends (e.g., transmits) the request.

At block 510, the apparatus receives at least one response to therequest.

At block 512, the apparatus sends (e.g., transmits) an acknowledgmentupon receiving the response(s).

In some aspects, a process may include any combination of two or more ofthe operations of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process 600 for communication in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the process 600 maycomplementary to the process 500 of FIG. 5. For example, the process 600may be performed in response to the process 500. The process 600 maytake place within a processing circuit (e.g., the processing circuit1110 of FIG. 11), which may be located in a vehicle, a component of avehicle, a communication device, a sensor device, a peer-to-peer device,a UE, a CPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a base station (BS),an eNode B (eNB), or some other suitable apparatus of a responder (e.g.,a responder vehicle). In some aspects, the process 600 may be performedby the second apparatus 404 of FIG. 4. For example, block 602 may beperformed by the at least one sensor 412, blocks 606 and 608 may beperformed by the object detection processor 414, and blocks 604, 610,and 612 may be performed by the transceiver 416. Of course, in variousaspects within the scope of the disclosure, the process 600 may beimplemented by any suitable apparatus capable of supportingcommunication-related operations.

At block 602, at some point in time, an apparatus (e.g., a respondervehicle) may sense at least one object.

At block 604, the apparatus receives a request for its sensedinformation. In response to this request, the apparatus may conductanother sense operation (e.g., as in block 602).

At block 606, the apparatus determines whether to respond to therequest. For example, the apparatus may respond based on the distance ofthe apparatus from the requestor. As another example, the apparatus mayrespond immediately if the apparatus's sensor visibility is beyond athreshold distance (e.g., X meters). As yet another example, theapparatus may delay responding if the apparatus's sensor visibility isless than the threshold distance. Alternatively or in addition, theapparatus may use a random delay to determine when to respond.

At block 608, if the apparatus elects to respond at block 606, theapparatus determines the attributes of its response. For example, theapparatus may elect to send all of its sensor information or a subset ofits sensor information (e.g., pursuant to the request or a delta). Asanother example, the apparatus may elect to send a specific sensor feed(e.g., pursuant to the request). As yet another example, the apparatusmay elect to send sensor information for a specific period of timeand/or for a particular direction (e.g., pursuant to the request). Also,if the apparatus does not detect any objects, the apparatus may reportthis in the response.

At block 610, the apparatus sends the response, if applicable.

At block 612, the apparatus receives an acknowledgment to the response,if applicable.

In some aspects, a process may include any combination of two or more ofthe operations of FIG. 6.

Example Autonomously Controlled Apparatus

The teachings herein may be implemented in an autonomously controlledapparatus. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an autonomously controlledapparatus 700 (e.g., a self-driving vehicle). The apparatus 700 maycorrespond to, for example, the first apparatus 402 or the secondapparatus 404 of FIG. 4.

The apparatus 700 includes a motion controller 702 that autonomouslycontrols at least one actuator 704. The at least one actuator 704 maytake the form of, for example, a motor and associated wheels, or someother mechanism that is capable of moving the apparatus 700.

In accordance with the teachings herein, the motion controller 702 maytake nearby objects into account when deciding whether and/or how tomove the apparatus 700. To this end, an object detection processor 706identifies objects in the vicinity of the apparatus 700 and providesinformation about these objects to the motion controller 702. Asdiscussed herein, the object detection processor 706 processesinformation received from one or more sensors to make an objectdetection decision and take action upon determining whether or not anobject has been detected. For example, the object detection processor706 may receive sensor information from at least one sensor 708associated with the apparatus 700. Alternatively, or in addition, theobject detection processor 706 may obtain sensor information received bya transceiver 710 from other apparatuses (e.g., other vehicles ordevices with sensors) through the use of a request-response scheme astaught herein.

Example Semi-Autonomously Controlled Apparatus

The teachings herein may be implemented in a semi-autonomouslycontrolled apparatus. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an autonomouslycontrolled apparatus 800 (e.g., a vehicle with automated driverassistance). The apparatus 800 may correspond to, for example, the firstapparatus 402 or the second apparatus 404 of FIG. 4.

The apparatus 800 includes a motion controller 802 thatsemi-autonomously controls at least one actuator 804. For example,similar to the apparatus 700 of FIG. 7, an object detection processor806 identifies objects in the vicinity of the apparatus 800 and providesinformation about these objects to the motion controller 802. Inaddition, the motion controller 802 may receive signals from a drivercontrol device 812 (e.g., a steering controller, an accelerationcontroller, a braking controller, a cell phone, etc.) that is actuatedby a driver.

Similar to the apparatus 700 of FIG. 7, the object detection processor806 processes information received from one or more sensors to make anobject detection decision and take action upon determining whether ornot an object has been detected. For example, the object detectionprocessor 806 may receive sensor information from at least one sensor808 associated with the apparatus 800. Alternatively, or in addition,the object detection processor 806 may obtain sensor informationreceived by a transceiver 810 from other apparatuses (e.g., othervehicles or devices with sensors) through the use of a request-responsescheme as taught herein. The object detection processor 806 could alsoprovide information about nearby objects to a driver input/output (I/O)device 814 (e.g., a display screen, a speaker, a vibration device, acell phone, etc.) to alert the driver about the nearby objects.

First Example Apparatus

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example hardware implementationof an apparatus 900 configured to communicate according to one or moreaspects of the disclosure. The apparatus 900 could embody or beimplemented within a vehicle, a component of a vehicle, a communicationmodule, a sensor module, a sensor device, a peer-to-peer device, a UE, aCPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a base station (BS), aneNode B (eNB), or some other type of device that supports wirelesscommunication. In various implementations, the apparatus 900 couldembody or be implemented within an access point, an access terminal, orsome other type of device. In various implementations, the apparatus 900could embody or be implemented within a server, a personal computer, amobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a portable computer, a networkentity, a machine, a sensor, an entertainment device, a medical device,or any other electronic device having circuitry.

The apparatus 900 includes a communication interface (e.g., at least onetransceiver) 902, a storage medium 904, a user interface 906, a memorydevice (e.g., a memory circuit) 908, and a processing circuit 910 (e.g.,at least one processor). In various implementations, the user interface906 may include one or more of: a keypad, a display, a speaker, amicrophone, a touchscreen display, of some other circuitry for receivingan input from or sending an output to a user.

These components can be coupled to and/or placed in electricalcommunication with one another via a signaling bus or other suitablecomponent, represented generally by the connection lines in FIG. 9. Thesignaling bus may include any number of interconnecting buses andbridges depending on the specific application of the processing circuit910 and the overall design constraints. The signaling bus links togethervarious circuits such that each of the communication interface 902, thestorage medium 904, the user interface 906, and the memory device 908are coupled to and/or in electrical communication with the processingcircuit 910. The signaling bus may also link various other circuits (notshown) such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, andpower management circuits, which are well known in the art, andtherefore, will not be described any further.

The communication interface 902 provides a means for communicating withother apparatuses over a transmission medium. In some implementations,the communication interface 902 is adapted to facilitate wirelesscommunication of the apparatus 900. For example, the communicationinterface 902 may include circuitry and/or programming adapted tofacilitate the communication of information bi-directionally withrespect to one or more communication devices in a network. Thus, in someimplementations, the communication interface 902 may be coupled to oneor more antennas 912 as shown in FIG. 9 for wireless communicationwithin a wireless communication system. In some implementations, thecommunication interface 902 may be configured for wire-basedcommunication. For example, the communication interface 902 could be abus interface, a send/receive interface, or some other type of signalinterface including drivers, buffers, or other circuitry for outputtingand/or obtaining signals (e.g., outputting signal from and/or receivingsignals into an integrated circuit). The communication interface 902 canbe configured with one or more standalone receivers and/or transmitters,as well as one or more transceivers. In the illustrated example, thecommunication interface 902 includes a transmitter 914 and a receiver916. The communication interface 902 serves as one example of a meansfor receiving and/or means transmitting.

The memory device 908 may represent one or more memory devices. Asindicated, the memory device 908 may maintain object information 918along with other information used by the apparatus 900. In someimplementations, the memory device 908 and the storage medium 904 areimplemented as a common memory component. The memory device 908 may alsobe used for storing data that is manipulated by the processing circuit910 or some other component of the apparatus 900.

The storage medium 904 may represent one or more computer-readable,machine-readable, and/or processor-readable devices for storingprogramming, such as processor executable code or instructions (e.g.,software, firmware), electronic data, databases, or other digitalinformation. The storage medium 904 may also be used for storing datathat is manipulated by the processing circuit 910 when executingprogramming The storage medium 904 may be any available media that canbe accessed by a general purpose or special purpose processor, includingportable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, and variousother mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying programming.

By way of example and not limitation, the storage medium 904 may includea magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magneticstrip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digitalversatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., acard, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), a readonly memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM),an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removable disk,and any other suitable medium for storing software and/or instructionsthat may be accessed and read by a computer. The storage medium 904 maybe embodied in an article of manufacture (e.g., a computer programproduct). By way of example, a computer program product may include acomputer-readable medium in packaging materials. In view of the above,in some implementations, the storage medium 904 may be a non-transitory(e.g., tangible) storage medium.

The storage medium 904 may be coupled to the processing circuit 910 suchthat the processing circuit 910 can read information from, and writeinformation to, the storage medium 904. That is, the storage medium 904can be coupled to the processing circuit 910 so that the storage medium904 is at least accessible by the processing circuit 910, includingexamples where at least one storage medium is integral to the processingcircuit 910 and/or examples where at least one storage medium isseparate from the processing circuit 910 (e.g., resident in theapparatus 900, external to the apparatus 900, distributed acrossmultiple entities, etc.).

Programming stored by the storage medium 904, when executed by theprocessing circuit 910, causes the processing circuit 910 to perform oneor more of the various functions and/or process operations describedherein (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable medium may storecomputer-executable code, including code to perform one or more of theoperations described herein). For example, the storage medium 904 mayinclude operations configured for regulating operations at one or morehardware blocks of the processing circuit 910, as well as to utilize thecommunication interface 902 for wireless communication utilizing theirrespective communication protocols.

The processing circuit 910 is generally adapted for processing,including the execution of such programming stored on the storage medium904. As used herein, the terms “code” or “programming” shall beconstrued broadly to include without limitation instructions,instruction sets, data, code, code segments, program code, programs,programming, subprograms, software modules, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise.

The processing circuit 910 is arranged to obtain, process and/or senddata, control data access and storage, issue commands, and control otherdesired operations. The processing circuit 910 may include circuitryconfigured to implement desired programming provided by appropriatemedia in at least one example. For example, the processing circuit 910may be implemented as one or more processors, one or more controllers,and/or other structure configured to execute executable programmingExamples of the processing circuit 910 may include a general purposeprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) orother programmable logic component, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor mayinclude a microprocessor, as well as any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processing circuit910 may also be implemented as a combination of computing components,such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a number ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, an ASIC and a microprocessor, or any other number of varyingconfigurations. These examples of the processing circuit 910 are forillustration and other suitable configurations within the scope of thedisclosure are also contemplated.

According to one or more aspects of the disclosure, the processingcircuit 910 may be adapted to perform any or all of the features,processes, functions, operations and/or routines for any or all of theapparatuses described herein. For example, the processing circuit 910may be configured to perform any of the steps, functions, and/orprocesses described with respect to FIG. 1-7 or 10. As used herein, theterm “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit 910 may refer tothe processing circuit 910 being one or more of configured, employed,implemented, and/or programmed to perform a particular process,function, operation and/or routine according to various featuresdescribed herein.

The processing circuit 910 may be a specialized processor, such as anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that serves as a meansfor (e.g., structure for) carrying out any one of the operationsdescribed in conjunction with FIG. 1-7 or 10. The processing circuit 910serves as one example of a means for transmitting and/or a means forreceiving. In various implementations, the processing circuit 910 mayprovide and/or incorporate the functionality of the first apparatus 402of FIG. 4, the apparatus 700 of FIG. 7, or the apparatus 800 of FIG. 8.

According to at least one example of the apparatus 900, the processingcircuit 910 may include one or more of a circuit/module for determining920, a circuit/module for sending 922, a circuit/module for receiving924, or a circuit/module for identifying 926. In variousimplementations, the circuit/module for determining 920, thecircuit/module for sending 922, the circuit/module for receiving 924, orthe circuit/module for identifying 926 may provide and/or incorporatethe functionality of the first apparatus 402 of FIG. 4.

As mentioned above, programming stored by the storage medium 904, whenexecuted by the processing circuit 910, causes the processing circuit910 to perform one or more of the various functions and/or processoperations described herein. For example, the programming may cause theprocessing circuit 910 to perform the various functions, steps, and/orprocesses described herein with respect to FIG. 1-7 or 10 in variousimplementations. As shown in FIG. 9, the storage medium 904 may includeone or more of code for determining 930, code for sending 932, code forreceiving 934, or code for identifying 936. In various implementations,the code for determining 930, the code for sending 932, the code forreceiving 934, or the code for identifying 936 may be executed orotherwise used to provide the functionality described herein for thecircuit/module for determining 920, the circuit/module for sending 922,the circuit/module for receiving 924, or the circuit/module foridentifying 926.

The circuit/module for determining 920 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for determining 930 stored on the storage medium904) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,determining an attribute. In some aspects, the circuit/module fordetermining 920 (e.g., a means for determining) may correspond to, forexample, a processing circuit.

Initially, the circuit/module for determining 920 may obtain informationupon which the determination is to be based. For example, thecircuit/module for determining 920 may obtain information (e.g., fromthe memory device 908, or some other component of the apparatus 900)regarding a generated request for sensor information. The circuit/modulefor determining 920 may then make the determination based on theobtained information. For example, the circuit/module for determining920 may select one or more of the attributes as discussed herein (e.g.,in conjunction with FIGS. 5 and 6). The circuit/module for determining920 may then output the attribute(s) to the circuit/module for sending922, the memory device 908, or some other component.

The circuit/module for sending 922 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for sending 932 stored on the storage medium904) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,sending (e.g., transmitting) information. In some implementations, thecircuit/module for sending 922 may obtain information (e.g., from thecircuit/module for determining 920, the memory device 908, or some othercomponent of the apparatus 900), process the information (e.g., encodethe information for transmission), and send the information to anothercomponent (e.g., the transmitter 914, the communication interface 902,or some other component) that will transmit the information to anotherdevice. In some scenarios (e.g., if the circuit/module for sending 922includes a transmitter), the circuit/module for sending 922 transmitsthe information directly to another device (e.g., the ultimatedestination) via radio frequency signaling or some other type ofsignaling suitable for the applicable communication medium.

The circuit/module for sending 922 (e.g., a means for sending) may takevarious forms. In some aspects, the circuit/module for sending 922 maycorrespond to, for example, an interface (e.g., a bus interface, asend/receive interface, or some other type of signal interface), acommunication device, a transceiver, a transmitter, or some othersimilar component as discussed herein. In some implementations, thecommunication interface 902 includes the circuit/module for sending 922and/or the code for sending 932. In some implementations, thecircuit/module for sending 922 and/or the code for sending 932 isconfigured to control the communication interface 902 (e.g., atransceiver or a transmitter) to transmit information.

The circuit/module for receiving 924 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for receiving 934 stored on the storage medium904) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,receiving information. In some scenarios, the circuit/module forreceiving 924 may obtain information (e.g., from the communicationinterface 902, the memory device, or some other component of theapparatus 900) and process (e.g., decode) the information. In somescenarios (e.g., if the circuit/module for receiving 924 is or includesan RF receiver), the circuit/module for receiving 924 may receiveinformation directly from a device that transmitted the information. Ineither case, the circuit/module for receiving 924 may output theobtained information to another component of the apparatus 900 (e.g.,the circuit/module for identifying 926, the memory device 908, or someother component).

The circuit/module for receiving 924 (e.g., a means for receiving) maytake various forms. In some aspects, the circuit/module for receiving924 may correspond to, for example, an interface (e.g., a bus interface,a send/receive interface, or some other type of signal interface), acommunication device, a transceiver, a receiver, or some other similarcomponent as discussed herein. In some implementations, thecommunication interface 902 includes the circuit/module for receiving924 and/or the code for receiving 934. In some implementations, thecircuit/module for receiving 924 and/or the code for receiving 934 isconfigured to control the communication interface 902 (e.g., atransceiver or a receiver) to receive information.

The circuit/module for identifying 926 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for identifying 936 stored on the storage medium904) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for exampleidentifying an object. In some aspects, the circuit/module foridentifying 926 (e.g., a means for identifying) may correspond to, forexample, a processing circuit.

In some aspects, the circuit/module for identifying 926 may identify anobject based on a received response. In this case, the circuit/modulefor identifying 926 may obtain response information (e.g., from thecircuit/module for receiving 924, the memory device 908, or some othercomponent). Next, the circuit/module for identifying 926 determineswhether the response information indicates that there is an object inthe vicinity of the apparatus 900. In some aspects, the circuit/modulefor identifying 926 may perform one or more of the operations describedherein (e.g., in conjunction with FIGS. 1-8) to identify a nearby object(e.g., determine the location, size, motion, object type, or otherinformation about the object). The circuit/module for identifying 926may then output an indication of the identified object (e.g., to thecommunication interface 902, the memory device 908, or some othercomponent).

First Example Process

FIG. 10 illustrates a process 1000 for communication in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure. The process 1000 may take place within aprocessing circuit (e.g., the processing circuit 910 of FIG. 9), whichmay be located in a vehicle, a component of a vehicle, a communicationmodule, a sensor module, a sensor device, a peer-to-peer device, a UE, aCPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a base station (BS), aneNode B (eNB), or some other suitable apparatus. In some aspects, theprocess 1000 may be performed by the first apparatus 402 of FIG. 4. Forexample, blocks 1002, 1008, and 1010 may be performed by the objectdetection processor 408, and blocks 1004 and 1006 may be performed bythe transceiver 410. Of course, in various aspects within the scope ofthe disclosure, the process 1000 may be implemented by any suitableapparatus capable of supporting communication-related operations.

At block 1002, an apparatus (e.g., a vehicle or an object detectiondevice at a vehicle) determines (e.g., selects) at least one attributefor a request for sensor information.

The at least one attribute may take different forms in differentscenarios. In some aspects, the at least one attribute may include arequest for all sensor information. In some aspects, the at least oneattribute may include a request for a subset of sensor information. Insome aspects, the at least one attribute may include a location of theapparatus. In some aspects, the at least one attribute may include arequest for a specific sensor feed. In some aspects, the at least oneattribute may include a period of time for responding to the request. Insome aspects, the at least one attribute may include an indication of adirection for sensing. In some aspects, the at least one attribute mayinclude an indication of a distance to control which responders respondto the request. In some aspects, the at least one attribute may includean indication of a distance to control when to respond to the request.In some aspects, the at least one attribute may include any combinationof the above.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for determining 920 of FIG.9 performs the operations of block 1002. In some implementations, thecode for determining 930 of FIG. 9 is executed to perform the operationsof block 1002.

At block 1004, the apparatus sends the request including the at leastone attribute. In implementations where the apparatus includes atransceiver, the request may be sent via the transceiver.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for sending 922 of FIG. 9performs the operations of block 1004. In some implementations, the codefor sending 932 of FIG. 9 is executed to perform the operations of block1004.

At block 1006, the apparatus receives a response to the request. Inimplementations where the apparatus includes a transceiver, the responsemay be received via the transceiver.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for receiving 924 of FIG. 9performs the operations of block 1006. In some implementations, the codefor receiving 934 of FIG. 9 is executed to perform the operations ofblock 1006.

At block 1008, the apparatus identifies at least one object in avicinity of the apparatus based on the response.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for identifying 926 of FIG.9 performs the operations of block 1008. In some implementations, thecode for identifying 936 of FIG. 9 is executed to perform the operationsof block 1008.

At optional block 1010, the apparatus may send an acknowledgment as aresult of receiving the response at block 1006.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for sending 922 of FIG. 9performs the operations of block 1010. In some implementations, the codefor sending 932 of FIG. 9 is executed to perform the operations of block1010.

In some aspects, the process 1000 may further include receiving at leastone other response to the request, wherein the identification of the atleast one object is further based on the at least one other response;sending a first acknowledgment to a first responder that sent theresponse; and sending at least one second acknowledgment to at least onesecond responder that sent the at least one other response.

In some aspects, a process may include any combination of two or more ofthe operations of FIG. 10.

Second Example Apparatus

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example hardwareimplementation of an apparatus 1100 configured to communicate accordingto one or more aspects of the disclosure. The apparatus 1100 couldembody or be implemented within a vehicle, a component of a vehicle, acommunication module, a sensor module, a sensor device, a peer-to-peerdevice, a UE, a CPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a basestation (BS), an eNode B (eNB), or some other type of device thatsupports wireless communication. In various implementations, theapparatus 1100 could embody or be implemented within an access terminal,an access point, or some other type of device. In variousimplementations, the apparatus 1100 could embody or be implementedwithin a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a portable computer, aserver, a personal computer, a network entity, a machine, a sensor, anentertainment device, a medical device, or any other electronic devicehaving circuitry.

The apparatus 1100 includes a communication interface (e.g., at leastone transceiver) 1102, a storage medium 1104, a user interface 1106, amemory device 1108 (e.g., storing object information 1118), and aprocessing circuit 1110 (e.g., at least one processor). In variousimplementations, the user interface 1106 may include one or more of: akeypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a touchscreen display, ofsome other circuitry for receiving an input from or sending an output toa user. The communication interface 1102 may be coupled to one or moreantennas 1112, and may include a transmitter 1114 and a receiver 1116.In general, the components of FIG. 11 may be similar to correspondingcomponents of the apparatus 900 of FIG. 9.

According to one or more aspects of the disclosure, the processingcircuit 1110 may be adapted to perform any or all of the features,processes, functions, operations and/or routines for any or all of theapparatuses described herein. For example, the processing circuit 1110may be configured to perform any of the steps, functions, and/orprocesses described with respect to FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 12, and 13. As usedherein, the term “adapted” in relation to the processing circuit 1110may refer to the processing circuit 1110 being one or more ofconfigured, employed, implemented, and/or programmed to perform aparticular process, function, operation and/or routine according tovarious features described herein.

The processing circuit 1110 may be a specialized processor, such as anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that serves as a meansfor (e.g., structure for) carrying out any one of the operationsdescribed in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 12, and 13. The processingcircuit 1110 serves as one example of a means for transmitting and/or ameans for receiving. In various implementations, the processing circuit1110 may provide and/or incorporate the functionality of the secondapparatus 404 of FIG. 4.

According to at least one example of the apparatus 1100, the processingcircuit 1110 may include one or more of a circuit/module for receiving1120, a circuit/module for identifying 1122, a circuit/module forsensing 1124, a circuit/module for generating 1126, a circuit/module fordetermining when to send 1128, a circuit/module for sending 1130, or acircuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgment has beenreceived 1132. In various implementations, the circuit/module forreceiving 1120, the circuit/module for identifying 1122, thecircuit/module for sensing 1124, the circuit/module for generating 1126,the circuit/module for determining when to send 1128, the circuit/modulefor sending 1130, or the circuit/module for determining whether anacknowledgment has been received 1132 may provide and/or incorporate thefunctionality of the second apparatus 404 of FIG. 4, the apparatus 700of FIG. 7, or the apparatus 800 of FIG. 8.

As mentioned above, programming stored by the storage medium 1104, whenexecuted by the processing circuit 1110, causes the processing circuit1110 to perform one or more of the various functions and/or processoperations described herein. For example, the programming may cause theprocessing circuit 1110 to perform the various functions, steps, and/orprocesses described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-4, 6-8, 12, and 13 invarious implementations. As shown in FIG. 11, the storage medium 1104may include one or more of code for receiving 1134, code for identifying1136, code for sensing 1138, code for generating 1140, code fordetermining when to send 1142, code for sending 1144, or code fordetermining whether an acknowledgment has been received 1146. In variousimplementations, the code for receiving 1134, the code for identifying1136, the code for sensing 1138, the code for generating 1140, the codefor determining when to send 1142, the code for sending 1144, or thecode for determining whether an acknowledgment has been received 1146may be executed or otherwise used to provide the functionality describedherein for the circuit/module for receiving 1120, the circuit/module foridentifying 1122, the circuit/module for sensing 1124, thecircuit/module for generating 1126, the circuit/module for determiningwhen to send 1128, the circuit/module for sending 1130, or thecircuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgment has beenreceived 1132.

The circuit/module for receiving 1120 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for receiving 1134 stored on the storage medium1104) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,receiving information. In some scenarios, the circuit/module forreceiving 1120 may obtain information (e.g., from the communicationinterface 1102, the memory device, or some other component of theapparatus 1100) and process (e.g., decode) the information. In somescenarios (e.g., if the circuit/module for receiving 1120 is or includesan RF receiver), the circuit/module for receiving 1120 may receiveinformation directly from a device that transmitted the information. Ineither case, the circuit/module for receiving 1120 may output theobtained information to another component of the apparatus 1100 (e.g.,the circuit/module for identifying 1122, the memory device 1108, or someother component).

The circuit/module for receiving 1120 (e.g., a means for receiving) maytake various forms. In some aspects, the circuit/module for receiving1120 may correspond to, for example, an interface (e.g., a businterface, a send/receive interface, or some other type of signalinterface), a communication device, a transceiver, a receiver, or someother similar component as discussed herein. In some implementations,the communication interface 1102 includes the circuit/module forreceiving 1120 and/or the code for receiving 1134. In someimplementations, the circuit/module for receiving 1120 and/or the codefor receiving 1134 is configured to control the communication interface1102 (e.g., a transceiver or a receiver) to receive information.

The circuit/module for identifying 1122 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for identifying 1136 stored on the storagemedium 1104) adapted to perform several functions relating to, forexample identifying an attribute. In some aspects, the circuit/modulefor identifying 1122 (e.g., a means for identifying) may correspond to,for example, a processing circuit.

In some aspects, the circuit/module for identifying 1122 may identify anattribute based on a received request. In this case, the circuit/modulefor identifying 1122 may obtain request information (e.g., from thecircuit/module for receiving 1120, the memory device 1108, or some othercomponent). Next, the circuit/module for identifying 1122 may extractone or more attributes from the request information. The circuit/modulefor identifying 1122 may then output the attributes (e.g., to thecircuit/module for sensing 1124, the memory device 1108, or some othercomponent).

The circuit/module for sensing 1124 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for sensing 1138 stored on the storage medium1104) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,sensing for one or more objects. In some aspects, the circuit/module forsensing 1124 (e.g., a means for sensing) may correspond to, for example,a processing circuit.

In some aspects, the circuit/module for sensing 1124 may obtaininformation to control the sensing (e.g., from the circuit/module foridentifying 1122, the memory device 1108, or some other component) andthen invoke the sensing accordingly (e.g., sense in a particulardirection, sense using a particular sensor, sense at a particular time,sense for particular objects, etc.) as discussed herein (e.g., inconjunction with FIGS. 1-11). The circuit/module for sensing 1124 maythen output the result of the sensing (e.g., to the circuit/module forgenerating 1130, the circuit/module for determining when to send 1128,the memory device 1108, or some other component).

The circuit/module for generating 1126 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for generating 1140 stored on the storage medium1104) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,generating a response. In some aspects, the circuit/module forgenerating 1126 (e.g., a means for generating) may correspond to, forexample, a processing circuit.

In some aspects, the circuit/module for generating 1126 may obtaininformation to be included in a response (e.g., from the circuit/modulefor sensing 1124, the memory device 1108, or some other component) andthen formulate a response (e.g., a response packet) that includes thisinformation. The circuit/module for generating 1126 may then output theresponse (e.g., to the circuit/module for sending 1130, thecircuit/module for determining when to send 1128, the memory device1108, or some other component).

The circuit/module for determining when to send 1128 may includecircuitry and/or programming (e.g., code for determining when to send1142 stored on the storage medium 1104) adapted to perform severalfunctions relating to, for example, determining when to send a response.In some aspects, the circuit/module for determining 1128 (e.g., a meansfor determining) may correspond to, for example, a processing circuit.

Initially, the circuit/module for determining when to send 1128 mayobtain information upon which the determination is to be based. Forexample, the circuit/module for determining when to send 1128 may obtaininformation about a request and/or a requestor (e.g., from the memorydevice 1108, the circuit/module for receiving 1120, or some othercomponent of the apparatus 1100) regarding a received request for sensorinformation. The circuit/module for determining when to send 1128 maythen make the determination based on the obtained information. Forexample, the circuit/module for determining when to send 1128 maydetermine a time to send a response based on a distance of the apparatus1100 from the requestor, whether sensor visibility of the apparatus 1100is beyond a threshold distance, a random delay, or any combinationthereof as discussed herein (e.g., in conjunction with FIGS. 1-9). Thecircuit/module for determining when to send 1128 may then output anindication of the time to send (e.g., to the circuit/module for sending1130, the memory device 1108, or some other component).

The circuit/module for sending 1130 may include circuitry and/orprogramming (e.g., code for sending 1144 stored on the storage medium1104) adapted to perform several functions relating to, for example,sending (e.g., transmitting) information. In some implementations, thecircuit/module for sending 1130 may obtain information (e.g., from thecircuit/module for determining 1128, the memory device 1108, or someother component of the apparatus 1100), process the information (e.g.,encode the information for transmission), and send the information toanother component (e.g., the transmitter 1114, the communicationinterface 1102, or some other component) that will transmit theinformation to another device. In some scenarios (e.g., if thecircuit/module for sending 1130 includes a transmitter), thecircuit/module for sending 1130 transmits the information directly toanother device (e.g., the ultimate destination) via radio frequencysignaling or some other type of signaling suitable for the applicablecommunication medium.

The circuit/module for sending 1130 (e.g., a means for sending) may takevarious forms. In some aspects, the circuit/module for sending 1130 maycorrespond to, for example, an interface (e.g., a bus interface, asend/receive interface, or some other type of signal interface), acommunication device, a transceiver, a transmitter, or some othersimilar component as discussed herein. In some implementations, thecommunication interface 1102 includes the circuit/module for sending1130 and/or the code for sending 1144. In some implementations, thecircuit/module for sending 1130 and/or the code for sending 1144 isconfigured to control the communication interface 1102 (e.g., atransceiver or a transmitter) to transmit information.

The circuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgment has beenreceived 1132 may include circuitry and/or programming (e.g., code fordetermining whether an acknowledgment has been received 1146 stored onthe storage medium 1104) adapted to perform several functions relatingto, for example, determining whether an acknowledgment of a response hasbeen received a response. In some aspects, the circuit/module fordetermining 1132 (e.g., a means for determining) may correspond to, forexample, a processing circuit.

Initially, the circuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgmenthas been received 1132 may obtain information upon which thedetermination is to be based. For example, the circuit/module fordetermining whether an acknowledgment has been received 1132 may obtaininformation (e.g., from the memory device 1108, the circuit/module forsending 1130, or some other component of the apparatus 1100) about aresponse that was sent by the apparatus 1100. The circuit/module fordetermining whether an acknowledgment has been received 1132 may thenmake the determination based on the obtained information. For example,the circuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgment has beenreceived 1132 may determine whether an acknowledgement having a certainidentifier associated with the response has been received. Thecircuit/module for determining whether an acknowledgment has beenreceived 1132 may then output an indication of the determination (e.g.,to the circuit/module for sending 1130, the memory device 1108, or someother component).

Second Example Process

FIG. 12 illustrates a process 1200 for communication in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the process 1200 maycomplementary to the process 1000 of FIG. 10. For example, the process1200 may be performed in response to the process 1000. The process 1200may take place within a processing circuit (e.g., the processing circuit1110 of FIG. 11), which may be located in a vehicle, a component of avehicle, a communication module, a sensor module, a sensor device, apeer-to-peer device, a UE, a CPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP),a base station (BS), an eNode B (eNB), or some other suitable apparatus.In some aspects, the process 1200 may be performed by the secondapparatus 404 of FIG. 4. For example, block 1206 may be performed by theat least one sensor 412, blocks 1204, 1208, and 1210 may be performed bythe object detection processor 414, and blocks 1202 and 1212 may beperformed by the transceiver 416. Of course, in various aspects withinthe scope of the disclosure, the process 1200 may be implemented by anysuitable apparatus capable of supporting communication-relatedoperations.

At block 1202, an apparatus (e.g., an object detection device at avehicle) receives a request for sensor information from a requestor. Inimplementations where the apparatus includes a transceiver, the requestmay be received via the transceiver.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for receiving 1120 of FIG.11 performs the operations of block 1202. In some implementations, thecode for receiving 1134 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform the operationsof block 1202.

At block 1204, the apparatus identifies at least one attribute of therequest. The at least one attribute may take different forms indifferent scenarios. In some aspects, the at least one attribute mayinclude a request for all sensor information. In some aspects, the atleast one attribute may include a request for a subset of sensorinformation. For example, the at least one attribute may indicate thatthe sensing is to be directed to a blind spot of the requestor, adesignated area, a certain range of (distance from) the requestor, acertain direction, or any combination thereof. In some aspects, the atleast one attribute may include a request for a specific sensor feed(e.g., Lidar data, camera data, radar data, object data, etc.). In someaspects, the at least one attribute may indicate a period of time forresponding to the request. In some aspects, the at least one attributemay include any combination of the above.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for identifying 1122 of FIG.11 performs the operations of block 1204. In some implementations, thecode for identifying 1136 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform theoperations of block 1204.

At block 1206, the apparatus senses for objects. For example, theapparatus may sense for objects before and/or after receiving therequest. In the latter case, the sensing may be based on (e.g., inresponse to) the request.

In some aspects, the at least one attribute may include a direction ofsensing as indicated in the request (e.g., a direction relative to therequestor or the apparatus). In this case, the sensing may be based onthe direction (e.g., the apparatus senses for objects in the indicateddirection).

In some implementations, the circuit/module for sensing 1124 of FIG. 11performs the operations of block 1206. In some implementations, the codefor sensing 1138 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform the operations ofblock 1206.

At block 1208, the apparatus generates a response to the request basedon the sensing and the at least one attribute. For example, theapparatus may determine whether and/or how to generate the request basedon one or more request attributes. In some aspects, the generation ofthe response may include determining that at least one object has beenreported in another response to the request, and abstaining fromreporting the at least one object (i.e., that has already beenreported).

In some aspects, the at least one attribute may include a location ofthe requestor as indicated in the request. In this case, the generationof the response may be based on the location. For example, the responsemight only include objects that are within a specified range of therequestor's location.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for generating 1126 of FIG.11 performs the operations of block 1208. In some implementations, thecode for generating 1140 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform theoperations of block 1208.

At block 1210, the apparatus determines when to send the response. Insome aspects, the determination of when to send the response may bebased on: a distance of the apparatus from the requestor, whether sensorvisibility of the apparatus is beyond a threshold distance, a randomdelay, or any combination thereof.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for determining when to send1128 of FIG. 11 performs the operations of block 1210. In someimplementations, the code for determining when to send 1142 of FIG. 11is executed to perform the operations of block 1210.

At block 1212, the apparatus sends the response according to thedetermination of block 1210 (e.g., at a time determined at block 1210).In implementations where the apparatus includes a transceiver, theresponse may be sent via the transceiver.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for sending 1130 of FIG. 11performs the operations of block 1212. In some implementations, the codefor sending 1144 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform the operations ofblock 1212.

In some aspects, the process 1200 may further include determiningwhether an acknowledgment of the response has been received; andre-sending the response if the acknowledgment has not been received.

In some aspects, a process may include any combination of two or more ofthe operations of FIG. 12.

Third Example Process

FIG. 13 illustrates a process 1300 for communication in accordance withsome aspects of the disclosure. In some aspects, the process 1300 may beperformed in conjunction with (e.g., in addition to or as part of) theprocess 1200 of FIG. 12. For example, the process 1300 may be performedafter block 1212 of FIG. 12. The process 1300 may take place within aprocessing circuit (e.g., the processing circuit 1110 of FIG. 11), whichmay be located in a vehicle, a component of a vehicle, a communicationmodule, a sensor module, a sensor device, a peer-to-peer device, a UE, aCPE, a gNB, a transmit receive point (TRP), a base station (BS), aneNode B (eNB), or some other suitable apparatus. In some aspects, theprocess 1300 may be performed by the second apparatus 404 of FIG. 4(e.g., by the object detection processor 414). Of course, in variousaspects within the scope of the disclosure, the process 1300 may beimplemented by any suitable apparatus capable of supportingcommunication-related operations.

At block 1302, an apparatus (e.g., an object detection device at avehicle) determines whether an acknowledgment of the response has beenreceived.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for determining when to send1128 of FIG. 11 performs the operations of block 1302. In someimplementations, the code for determining when to send 1142 of FIG. 11is executed to perform the operations of block 1302.

At block 1304, the apparatus re-sends the response if the acknowledgmenthas not been received. In implementations where the apparatus includes atransceiver, the response may be re-sent via the transceiver.

In some implementations, the circuit/module for sending 1130 of FIG. 11performs the operations of block 1304. In some implementations, the codefor sending 1144 of FIG. 11 is executed to perform the operations ofblock 1304.

In some aspects, a process may include any combination of two or more ofthe operations of FIG. 13.

Other Aspects

The examples set forth herein are provided to illustrate certainconcepts of the disclosure. Those of ordinary skill in the art willcomprehend that these are merely illustrative in nature, and otherexamples may fall within the scope of the disclosure and the appendedclaims. Based on the teachings herein those skilled in the art shouldappreciate that an aspect disclosed herein may be implementedindependently of any other aspects and that two or more of these aspectsmay be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus may beimplemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspectsset forth herein. In addition, such an apparatus may be implemented orsuch a method may be practiced using other structure, functionality, orstructure and functionality in addition to or other than one or more ofthe aspects set forth herein.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspectsdescribed throughout this disclosure may be extended to any suitabletelecommunication system, network architecture, and communicationstandard. By way of example, various aspects may be applied to wide areanetworks, peer-to-peer network, local area network, other suitablesystems, or any combination thereof, including those described byyet-to-be defined standards.

Many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to beperformed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will berecognized that various actions described herein can be performed byspecific circuits, for example, central processing units (CPUs), graphicprocessing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), or various other types of general purpose or special purposeprocessors or circuits, by program instructions being executed by one ormore processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, thesesequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodiedentirely within any form of computer readable storage medium havingstored therein a corresponding set of computer instructions that uponexecution would cause an associated processor to perform thefunctionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects of thedisclosure may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of whichhave been contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. In addition, for each of the aspects described herein, thecorresponding form of any such aspects may be described herein as, forexample, “logic configured to” perform the described action.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that information and signalsmay be represented using any of a variety of different technologies andtechniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information,signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout theabove description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof.

Further, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm stepsdescribed in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may beimplemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinationsof both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps have been described above generally in terms of theirfunctionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement thedescribed functionality in varying ways for each particular application,but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in above may be rearranged and/or combined into a singlecomponent, step, feature or function or embodied in several components,steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and/orfunctions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedabove may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features,or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein mayalso be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded in hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of example processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The methods, sequences or algorithms described in connection with theaspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exampleof a storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary”is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous overother aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularaspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the aspects. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “includes” or “including,” when used herein, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, orgroups thereof. Moreover, it is understood that the word “or” has thesame meaning as the Boolean operator “OR,” that is, it encompasses thepossibilities of “either” and “both” and is not limited to “exclusiveor” (“XOR”), unless expressly stated otherwise. It is also understoodthat the symbol “/” between two adjacent words has the same meaning as“or” unless expressly stated otherwise. Moreover, phrases such as“connected to,” “coupled to” or “in communication with” are not limitedto direct connections unless expressly stated otherwise.

Any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order ofthose elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as aconvenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements orinstances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elementsdoes not mean that only two elements may be used there or that the firstelement must precede the second element in some manner Also, unlessstated otherwise a set of elements may include one or more elements. Inaddition, terminology of the form “at least one of a, b, or c” or “a, b,c, or any combination thereof” used in the description or the claimsmeans “a or b or c or any combination of these elements.” For example,this terminology may include a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or aand b and c, or 2 a, or 2 b, or 2 c, or 2 a and b, and so on.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining, and thelike. Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receivinginformation), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and thelike. Also, “determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing,establishing, and the like.

As used herein, the term receiving may include obtaining (e.g., anintegrated circuit chip may obtain information via an interface),receiving an RF signal (e.g., a transceiver or receiver may receive anRF signal via an antenna), or other forms of receiving. In addition, asused herein, the term sending may include outputting or providing (e.g.,an integrated circuit chip may output information via an interface),transmitting an RF signal (e.g., a transceiver or transmitter maytransmit an RF signal via an antenna), or other forms of sending.

While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects, it should benoted that various changes and modifications could be made hereinwithout departing from the scope of the appended claims. The functions,steps or actions of the method claims in accordance with aspectsdescribed herein need not be performed in any particular order unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, although elements may bedescribed or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unlesslimitation to the singular is explicitly stated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication at a firstapparatus, the method comprising: detecting an object; determiningwhether the object was reported to a second apparatus within a window oftime; and selectively transmitting a message identifying the object tothe second apparatus based on the determining whether the object wasreported to the second apparatus within the window of time.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: determining whether the object was reportedto the second apparatus within the window of time comprises determiningthat the object was reported to the second apparatus within the windowof time; and selectively transmitting the message comprises abstainingfrom transmitting the message identifying the object to the secondapparatus as a result of the determining that the object was reported tothe second apparatus within the window of time.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein: determining whether the object was reported to the secondapparatus within the window of time comprises determining that theobject was not reported to the second apparatus within the window oftime; and selectively transmitting the message comprises transmittingthe message identifying the object to the second apparatus as a resultof the determining that the object was not reported to the secondapparatus within the window of time.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereindetecting the object comprises at least one of: acquiring sensorinformation for a specified period of time, acquiring sensor informationin a specified direction, acquiring information via a specified sensorfeed, or a combination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a distance to the object; wherein selectivelytransmitting the message identifying the object to the second apparatusis further based on the distance to the object.
 6. The method of claim5, wherein determining the distance to the object comprises: determiningthe distance to the object based on sensor information from at least onesensor.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein selectively transmitting themessage identifying the object to the second apparatus further based onthe distance to the object comprises: electing not to transmit themessage identifying the object to the second apparatus based on thedistance to the object being beyond a specified distance; and electingto transmit the message identifying the object to the second apparatusbased on the distance to the object being within the specified distance.8. The method of claim 1, wherein selectively transmitting the messageidentifying the object to the second apparatus is further based on atleast one of: a direction to the object, a distance to the secondapparatus, a type of data to be reported, a visibility of a sensor ofthe first apparatus, or a combination thereof.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the message indicates at least one of: a size of the object, amotion of the object, or a combination thereof.
 10. The method of claim1, wherein detecting the object comprises: detecting the object using atleast one sensor.
 11. A first apparatus for wireless communication, theapparatus comprising: a memory device; and a processing circuit coupledto the memory device, wherein the processing circuit and the memorydevice are configured to: detect an object; determine whether the objectwas reported to a second apparatus within a window of time; andselectively transmit a message identifying the object to the secondapparatus based on the determination whether the object was reported tothe second apparatus within the window of time.
 12. The first apparatusof claim 11, wherein the processing circuit and the memory device arefurther configured to: determine that the object was reported to thesecond apparatus within the window of time; and abstain fromtransmitting the message identifying the object to the second apparatusas a result of the determination that the object was reported to thesecond apparatus within the window of time.
 13. The first apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the processing circuit and the memory device arefurther configured to: determine that the object was not reported to thesecond apparatus within the window of time; and transmit the messageidentifying the object to the second apparatus as a result of thedetermination that the object was not reported to the second apparatuswithin the window of time.
 14. The first apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe processing circuit and the memory device configured to detect theobject comprises the processing circuit and the memory device configuredto acquire sensor information for a specified period of time, acquiresensor information in a specified direction, acquire information via aspecified sensor feed, or a combination thereof.
 15. The first apparatusof claim 11, wherein the processing circuit and the memory device arefurther configured to: determine a distance to the object; andselectively transmit the message identifying the object to the secondapparatus further based on the distance to the object.
 16. The firstapparatus of claim 15, wherein the processing circuit and the memorydevice configured to determine the distance to the object comprises theprocessing circuit and the memory device configured to: determine thedistance to the object based on sensor information from at least onesensor.
 17. The first apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processingcircuit and the memory device configured to selectively transmit themessage identifying the object to the second apparatus further based onthe distance to the object comprises the processing circuit and thememory device configured to: elect not to transmit the messageidentifying the object to the second apparatus based on the distance tothe object being beyond a specified distance; and elect to transmit themessage identifying the object to the second apparatus based on thedistance to the object being within the specified distance.
 18. Thefirst apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing circuit and thememory device configured to selectively transmit the message identifyingthe object to the second apparatus comprises the processing circuit andthe memory device configured to: selectively transmit the messageidentifying the object to the second apparatus further based on at leastone of a direction to the object, a distance to the second apparatus, atype of data to be reported, a visibility of a sensor of the firstapparatus, or a combination thereof.
 19. The first apparatus of claim11, wherein the message indicates at least one of a size of the object,a motion of the object, or a combination thereof.
 20. The firstapparatus of claim 11, wherein: the first apparatus is a vehicle; thefirst apparatus further comprises a transceiver and an antenna; and theprocessing circuit and the memory are further configured to selectivelytransmit the message via the transceiver and the antenna.